Tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes that taste so-oo good.

Tomatoes bought in the grocers' just have no taste, unless you like cardboard or nothingness. I admit I'm slightly prejudiced, all right a lot prejudiced… If you've ever tasted a fresh from the vine tomato, then you can appreciate the difference in what I'm talking about.

Grocer's tomatoes are picked while they are still ripening to avoid bruising and rotting during transport. As a result that final energy and taste boost that comes from hanging on the vine to the stage of perfect eating is missed.

But using vertical gardening techniques and the proper choice of plants (for your location and growing season) can make almost anyone with at least 6-8 hours of sunlight and some outdoor space a tomato gardener. And I'm not talking about a lot of space either.

I was fortunate to interview Frank Kilgore. Frank's one of those guys who remembered the great taste of tomatoes his father had raised in his garden and wanted the same for his home-grown tomatoes. Frank shared with me some of his tips on growing those big juicy red tomatoes.

I'll be posting some of that interview here for your listening, as I'm still editing the audio.

But one tip I will share with you–Frank pinches off most all but the top three (3) leaves of the tomato vine. He swears this sends all the energy of the plant into the tomato not into leaf production. The amount of tomatoes he gets from one plant is nothing short of amazing.

Well, I just had to share that with you and I'm back to editing the audio. Will let you in on more of Frank's secrets.

All in the day of a gardener's life,